How to Make Pasta from Scratch: A Complete Guide
Learn to make fresh pasta dough at home—cutting, rolling, and cooking techniques for homemade noodles.
Fresh pasta is a revelation compared to dried — silky, tender, and absorbent of sauce in a way the dried boxed stuff can never match. Two ingredients (flour and eggs), one hour of work, and you have restaurant-quality tagliatelle on a Tuesday night. This is the cheapest luxury in cooking: $2 of flour and eggs becomes the kind of pasta you'd pay $24 for at a trattoria. This guide walks through the entire process end-to-end: choosing flour, mixing the dough, kneading until the gluten is alive, resting, rolling (by hand or with a machine), cutting, and cooking. We'll cover what to do when the dough cracks, what to do when it's too sticky, and the exact texture you're looking for at each stage. Don't be intimidated. Fresh pasta is more forgiving than bread and faster than risotto. The first time will feel awkward; by the third attempt you'll have the technique locked in for life.
Flour: 00 vs Semolina vs All-Purpose
The flour decision shapes everything. Italian '00' flour (Caputo or Anna brands) is finely milled soft wheat — silky, pale, and the traditional choice for egg pasta in Northern Italy. It produces tender ribbons (tagliatelle, fettuccine) with a delicate bite. Semolina (durum wheat) is coarser, golden, and used for shaped pastas like orecchiette and the dried extruded shapes from Southern Italy. All-purpose flour works in a pinch but produces a slightly chewier, less elegant result — fine for weeknights, not your dinner party. The classic Northern Italian egg pasta ratio is 100g of 00 flour per large egg. Many cooks blend 80% 00 with 20% semolina for extra structure and a faint golden color. Buy 00 flour once — Caputo Chef's Flour (blue bag) is $5 for a kilo at any Italian deli and lasts months.
Mixing the Dough: Well Method vs Bowl Method
The traditional well method: pile 300g flour on a board, create a deep well in the center, crack 3 eggs into the well, beat eggs with a fork while slowly pulling flour inward from the well's walls. When the mixture becomes too thick to whisk, switch to your hands. The romance is undeniable but the technique is messy — eggs escape. The modern bowl method is cleaner: combine flour and eggs in a wide bowl, mix with a fork until shaggy, then turn out and knead. KitchenAid users can use the dough hook on speed 2 for 4-5 minutes — saves your hands for the rolling. Whichever method, the finished dough should be smooth, firm, and slightly tacky but not sticky. If it sticks to your hands, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time. If it's dry and cracking, sprinkle water and knead in.
💡 Tip: Eggs vary by 10-15g. If dough feels too dry after 5 minutes of kneading, add 1 teaspoon of water. Too wet? 1 tablespoon of flour. Adjust slowly — you can always add more, you can't take it out.
Kneading: 10 Minutes That Make or Break the Pasta
Kneading develops the gluten network — the protein strands that give cooked pasta its bite. Push the dough away with the heel of your palm, fold it back over itself, rotate 90°, repeat. Set a timer for 10 minutes and don't shortcut this. After 4 minutes the dough will feel rough; after 7 it begins to smooth; at 10 minutes it should look like a polished marble — smooth, elastic, and bouncing back slowly when poked. Under-kneaded dough tears when rolled. Over-kneading is nearly impossible by hand (machines can over-knead, so cap KitchenAid time at 5 minutes). The dough should now feel like a firm earlobe — that's the texture test Italian grandmothers use.
Resting the Dough: The Step Nobody Should Skip
Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap (or a beeswax wrap) and rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, ideally 60. This allows the gluten to relax (rolled dough won't snap back) and the flour to fully hydrate (the dough will be smoother to work with). Skipped resting is the #1 cause of fresh pasta failure — the dough becomes leathery, fights you at every roll, and tears. You can rest up to 24 hours in the refrigerator; bring back to room temperature before rolling. The dough also freezes well for up to a month — thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Rolling: Pasta Machine vs Rolling Pin
A pasta machine (Marcato Atlas 150 is the industry standard at $90, or the KitchenAid pasta roller attachment at $150) makes rolling effortless and consistent. Cut the rested dough into 4 portions, work with one at a time, keep the rest covered. Flatten the portion, run through the widest setting (#1), fold in thirds like a letter, run again on #1. Repeat the fold-and-roll 6-8 times on the widest setting — this is the final kneading and laminating step. Then progress through narrower settings (#2, #3, #4, #5 for tagliatelle, #6 for ravioli, #7 for very thin angel hair). By hand: use a long thin rolling pin (a 'mattarello'), starting from center and pushing outward, rotating the dough 90° after each pass. Aim for 1-2mm thickness — thin enough that you can see your hand through it when held up to light.
Cutting Shapes: Tagliatelle, Pappardelle, and Beyond
Once rolled, lightly dust the sheet with semolina (it prevents sticking better than flour) and fold loosely. For tagliatelle (5mm wide ribbons): make 4-5 loose folds, then slice across with a sharp knife. Unfurl with your fingers — they fall into perfect ribbons. Pappardelle: 2-3cm wide, the same technique with wider cuts. Pappardelle is the right cut for rich ragù sauces like Bolognese. Fettuccine: 1cm wide. Lasagna sheets: cut the long rolled sheet into 25cm rectangles, no folding needed. Pasta machine attachments cut tagliatelle and fettuccine automatically — feed the rolled sheet through the cutter. Filled pasta (ravioli, tortellini) is rolled thinner (#6-7) and filled before cutting.
Cooking Fresh Pasta: 90 Seconds, Not 9 Minutes
Fresh pasta cooks in 90 seconds to 3 minutes depending on thickness. Use a large pot with plenty of water (4 liters per 500g of pasta) and 1 tablespoon of salt per liter — the water should taste like the sea. Add pasta after the water reaches a rolling boil, stir immediately to prevent sticking, taste at 90 seconds. It's done when al dente — slight resistance at the center. Drain (reserving a cup of starchy water for sauce), do NOT rinse. Toss with sauce immediately in a wide pan — the residual starch helps the sauce cling. The most common mistake: cooking fresh pasta as long as dried. Set a timer for 60 seconds and start tasting. Overcooked fresh pasta turns to mush instantly.
Storing and Drying Fresh Pasta
Cut pasta can be cooked immediately, dried for short-term storage, or frozen. To dry: spread the cut pasta on a clean kitchen towel or hang on a pasta rack (or a clean coat hanger) for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Dried fresh pasta keeps in an airtight container for 4-5 days at room temperature. To freeze: arrange in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, freeze for 2 hours, then transfer to a freezer bag. Cook directly from frozen (don't thaw) — adds 1 extra minute to cooking time. Filled pasta should always be frozen, not refrigerated, as the moisture from the filling makes the dough soggy within hours.
Troubleshooting: Cracking, Sticking, and Tough Dough
Dough cracks while rolling: too dry. Wrap, rest 15 minutes, then knead in a teaspoon of water. Dough sticks to roller: too wet or under-floured. Dust with semolina between passes and roll on a lightly floured surface. Dough is tough and snaps back: gluten too tight. Rest another 30 minutes — never try to fight it. Cooked pasta is gluey: cooked too long or insufficient water in the pot. Cooked pasta tears: rolled too thin or insufficient kneading. Sauce won't cling: rinsed the pasta (don't!) or sauce is too liquid — finish in the pan with a splash of starchy pasta water.
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Can I make pasta without a pasta machine?
Yes — a long thin rolling pin (a mattarello) works perfectly, though it takes more upper-body strength and practice. Italian grandmothers have rolled pasta this way for centuries. For the best results without a machine, work in smaller batches (200g at a time) and don't be afraid to dust with semolina as you roll.
Why did my dough come out tough?
Two likely causes: not enough rest time, or too much flour worked in during kneading. The gluten needs at least 30 minutes to relax after kneading, and if the dough is too dry, it will fight you. Wrap and rest another 30 minutes before trying again — sometimes that fixes everything.
Do I need 00 flour or will all-purpose work?
All-purpose works but produces a chewier, less elegant texture. 00 flour (Caputo Chef's Flour) costs around $5 a kilo and lasts months — it's worth the upgrade if you'll make pasta more than twice. For shaped pastas like orecchiette, semolina is actually preferred.
Can I make pasta dough ahead of time?
Yes. Wrapped tightly, it keeps 24 hours in the refrigerator (bring back to room temperature before rolling) or up to a month frozen. Cut and dried pasta keeps 4-5 days at room temperature; cut and frozen pasta cooks directly from frozen in under 4 minutes.
Why is my fresh pasta turning gummy when cooked?
Overcooked, or not enough water in the pot. Fresh pasta cooks in 90 seconds to 3 minutes — start tasting at 60 seconds. Use at least 4 liters of water per 500g of pasta, and don't rinse after draining (the starch helps the sauce cling).
Fresh pasta is one of those skills that feels intimidating until you've done it twice — then it's just Tuesday. With 30 minutes of active work and basic equipment, you turn $2 of pantry staples into a meal that beats anything from a box. The Marcato Atlas pays for itself in three uses. Keep 00 flour and good eggs around and you're always 90 minutes from a great dinner. Practice the dough until it becomes muscle memory; after that the pasta will surprise you with how good it is.